Operation: LEMON
by Numbuh Phenon
Summary: It's time for Sector A's Lemonade Luncheon, and Numbuh 10 is thirsty for a story. When a silver-tongued sales-kid comes along attempting to steal the show, Numbuh 10 decides to mold the Amish sector into the greatest underdog story of all time...whether they want to or not.
1. Cup 1

**_Operation: L.E.M.O.N_**

 ** _Lemonade. Event. Makes. Odd. News_**

* * *

The Amish Kids Next Door were not known for their excitement. To be honest, the sector was not known for much anything beyond the fact that they were, well, Amish. Good or bad, their way of life was their only claim to fame in the never-ending fight against adult tyranny.

But if they were being honest, at the end of the day, as far as the sector itself was concerned, being known for only being Amish wasn't a terrible thing.

The children of sector A were a humble bunch, nestled quietly in the country side with nothing but the fresh air and their traditions keeping them going day by day. No adults attacking them over strict curfews, no crazy 2x4 experiments to keep them awake. Yes, sector A was a quiet sector, and that was fine by them.

However, there was one time each year where sector A was more than ready to prove their worth. During the sweltering summer months, when KND budget demanded attention and operatives' tongues cried out in thirst, sector A provided the solution. So this year, like every other year, it was once again time for-

"-The Annual Lotta Lemonade Luncheon," said a voice belonging to the ever beautiful Numbuh 10. The fiery leader of sector L dazzled the camera with her smile as she gestured to the ocean of operatives and booths behind her, filling in the normally desolate country-side. "Bring out your t-shirts and pitchers because lemonade fever is wild at this year's luncheon."

Numbuh 10 strode across the field, her faithful crew not lagging behind. The redhead effortlessly moved through crowds of operatives, passing the cadets playing hide and seek and other kids everywhere getting in proper amounts of summer fun at the bustling festival.

"Every year, sector A hosts this event to give operatives world-wide a break in the sun, raise money for the yearly budget, and hey, if we all happen to get a cool glass of their Amish Style Lemonade?" As she posed her question, a volunteer server ran by with a tray of lemonade. Numbuh 10 gently plucked a glass from the collection as the kid walked on, then raised it towards the camera with a subtle wink. "Then that's just a bonus, wouldn't you agree?"

She fluttered her lashes for the camera while covertly scanning the crowd for her next target. With a trained smile, she ambled over to a young cadet fresh off from the face-painter and cutely positioned herself next to the young one in a move that would have her PR guy crying tears of joy.

"Even the cadets get time off from training to join in on the fun." She lowered her mic to the young girl, Numbuh 9-Film making sure the camera got every angle of the stars and kitty-cats painted on the kid's cheeks. "Tell me, sweetie, what's your favorite part of the Lemonade Luncheon?"

"I like the face-painting, the games, the face-painting-oh! And Numbuh 3 and the Supreme Leaduh's Adopt-A- Furry-Friend Booth!" The girl raised her hands, slowly unclasping them to reveal a curious baby hamster. "This is Blinky! He's really cute, and really fast, and can do this thing where he-"

"Isn't that adorable?" Numbuh 10 said with a laugh as she snapped up, tossing away the glass of lemonade and shooing the cadet off camera. "Yes sir, the festivities are in full swing here. Wait one second, why, is that sector A's leader himself I spy?" She expertly picked the kid out from the crowd, snapping her fingers as she and her crew bolted off after him. "Numbuh Jebediah! May we have a word?"

Numbuh Jebediah sat down his crate of lemons, taking the moment to fan himself and adjust his "beard." As he tugged out his collar, a heavenly voice rang out calling his name. He curiously looked around with his hands on his hips, wondering whoever could it be trying to get his attention now?

However, the moment he recognized Numbuh 10 and was surrounded by her camera crew, his pleasant smile dropped and he defensively rose his hands. "Gah! Numbuh 10, I told you I don't want no part in any of your-"

"Interview? You are far too kind, Jebediah," Numbuh 10 said as she slung her arm around his shoulder, mouth quirking into a smirk. Numbuh Jebediah gave a nervous smile in return, as his eyes ventured back and forth between the girl and the camera. Having caught him, she shoved the mic in his face as she rattled off questions. "So, Jebediah, this is your third Lemonade Luncheon; how does it feel to be in charge of such an important event?"

… _bzzzzzz_ …

"Ah, well, it's certainly quite the task," he slowly answered. Noticing him staring at her confused, Numbuh 10 subtly tilted her head towards the camera. Thankfully, the boy got the hint. "It takes a lot of sweat and tears to fashion together, but we here in sector A aren't strangers to a little hard work."

… _bzzzzz…_

"Hard work you say? Care to elaborate on that for our lovely viewers?"

… _bzzzzz_ …

"Well, a lot of time and care has got to go into making lemonade. Ya got make sure the lemons are ripe, scrub 'em down, then get to slicing them up."

"Now that's interesting. Tell me, what exactly goes into making a good cup of-"

… _bzzzzzZZT!_

"-ACK!"

Everyone took a cautious step back as Numbuh 10 made a very un-Numbuh 10-like noise. The girl's eyes bulged, her mic dropped, and her hands leapt to her neck as unprofessional retching noises spewed from her throat.

"It's in my mouth! IT'S IN MY MOUTH!" she managed to croak out as she dropped to her knees. Numbuh Jebediah's jaw dropped as he watched the leader of sector L seemingly strangle herself. Numbuh 10 continued to make a series of long gagging coughs, managing to glare at her team for standing there dumbfounded. "NUMBUH 11.0!"

"Uh, r-right you are, Numbuh 10!" Recognizing that tone of voice, Numbuh 11.0 ran up from the rear and scoped up Numbuh 10's fallen microphone. Within in instant, the pudgy boy schooled his features as he calmly drew attention away from the scene with the camera crew, sans 9-Film, wisely following him. "Let's head on over to the lemonade stand to see just how long the line is this year…"

As the news team wandered off, Numbuh 9-Film rushed over to his leader's side. Numbuh 10 continued to cough and gurgle until, with one heap of effort, managed to hock up a fly that had lodged itself down her throat.

The small insect tittered about, but Numbuh 10 centered her icy gaze on the fly as she evened out her breath. Out of nowhere, she wielded a can of bug spray and wildly spewed out generous clouds of fume as vile promises of death and squashing spilled from her mouth.

Numbuh Jebediah and 9-Film coughed as they backed away, and with a victorious squeal, Numbuh 10 caught to fly in her sights and watched merrily as it fell to the ground. Not done with the poor thing, the girl dropped to her knees as she continued to spray, emptying the entire contents of the can on the downed fly.

Once the can was dry, all that was left as spot of sticky residue in the grass, and a fly on its back with its legs twitching in apparent agony.

Numbuh 10 sneered as she leaned in close. "Tell your friends."

Her vengeance complete, Numbuh slowly rose from the ground and daintily wiped off her sundress. Silence ticked on, and from his position not even two feet away, Numbuh Jebediah looked over to 9-Film with a raised brow. The camera-boy, however, offered no answers. He simply pinched the bridge of his nose and started counting down.

Five.

Four.

Three.

Two.

One-

"Ugh! Have I mentioned how much I hate bugs!?"

Numbuh 9-Film sighed. "That'd be the tenth time this hour, ma'am."

Numbuh 10 looked ready to say something, but decided on a huff and rolled her eyes. "Go bring me another can from the SCAMPER. Something tells me I'm going to need it."

With a lazy salute, Numbuh 9-Film turned and slowly made his way over the hill. Numbuh Jebediah, for his part, still looked completely bewildered as he stroked the bristles of his "beard." Unfortunately, he would have no time to break down what just happened before Numbuh 10 broke into his personal space again.

"You're killing me here, Jebediah," Numbuh 10 said. "Haven't you guys ever heard of bug zappers or modern pesticides?"

Jebediah frowned and crossed his arms. "I'll tell you like I tell you every year, Numbuh 10, we'll be having none of your fancy-shmancy technology here."

"Oh yeah, you're Amish. How could I have forgotten? It's not like you shove it in my face every ten minutes," she grumbled as she kicked the ground. "What with your no AC or lack of indoor plumbing."

"Seems ye've also forgotten how to show respect," he snapped back. "Need I be reminding you that you wouldn't be able to cover this event had I not granted special permission to use your cameras?"

"What's the point of even covering this luncheon if you won't even give me a proper interview?" she asked. "You were dead in the water back there! We're not going to get any views with your thousand-yard stare. If you'd just let me give you some pointers-"

"I don't have time for any interviews!" he interrupted. He bit back a sigh, and began rubbing his temples as he felt a stress headache coming on. "Including myself, there's only three of us in sector A. We gotta serve lemonade to a eleventy gazillion KND operatives, and none of you ever bother to help us make the stuff."

"No one will help? That's just _tragic_ ," Numbuh 10 cooed, sliding up to the exhausted boy and patting him on the back. "You guys work so hard every year to give us quality lemonade and no one bats an eye. Well I won't stand for it! Me and my team will help you personally," she said. "Mostly them."

Jebediah blinked. "Truly?"

"Of course! I'd never lie to you, Jebediah. Need to keep that professional integrity intact and all." She smiled warmly as she straightened his collar and adjusted his broom-beard strap. "All you'd have to do is the itty, bitty, little favor of bumping me to the front of the line this year and I'll-"

"Oh no!" Jebediah pushed himself out of Numbuh 10's grasped and straightened his hat as he stubbornly walked away. "You'll wait your turn just like everyone else."

Numbuh 10 snapped her fingers, slumping down into a nearby chair as her face crinkled into a frown. "Shoot. Thought I had him that time too."

"Trying to butter up to Numbuh Jebediah, eh?"

A shadow enveloped her and under any normal circumstances she'd welcome the shade. This, however, was not normal circumstances as the voice struck a cord no many could touch.

Numbuh 10 leaned her head back, craning her neck to stare unimpressed at the familiar face above her. "Patton."

Patton smirked as he tipped the rim of his beanie. "Georgette."

"What'd I do to merit your attention?" She neatly folded her hands in her lap and greeted him with a tiny smile. "Because I swear I'll never do it again."

Patton's mouth thinned as he rose a brow. "You could start by retracting that story about me using Rainbow Monkey Silky Smooth Shampoo."

"Come now, don't tell me you're upset about that rumor," she said before winking. "I didn't even start that one."

"You still decided it newsworthy."

"Operatives everywhere are dying to know how you get that _fwoosh_ in your hair, Patton. Who am I to deny them possible answers?"

Patton opted for a silent frown.

"I'd warn that your face will freeze like that, but it seems I'm too late. Shame." she said. She used her finger to softly flick his nose, using his momentary fluster as her chance to stand. "Don't you have a cadet to drill or something? There's tons of them running around here."

Patton rubbed at his nose before saying, "It's their day off. Even I'm not that strict."

Georgette put a hand to her heart as she feigned a relieved sigh. "I'll sleep easy tonight knowing the Antarctic hasn't frozen your heart."

"Could say the same for you. Figured this heat would mellow you a bit."

"More like melt me," she groaned. She opened her eyes at Patton, only to double-take as she took in his attire. "But geez, you're still dressed like we're at the Arctic Base! How do you _function_!?"

Patton glanced down at his signature winter jacket and wiggled his toes in his boots. With a shrug, he adjusted his beanie then dusted off his sleeves. "In my day to day, ya get used to extreme temperatures. Besides, this is my favorite coat."

"Patton, I am concerned. Seriously." She ended up walking around him, hesitantly watching out in case of a heat stroke. "Believe me, I'm all about keeping up good fashion sense, but you must be sweating up a storm."

"I don't sweat."

Georgette paused mid-step. "You…don't sweat?"

"Nope." Patton puffed out his chest proudly as he smirked. "Annoys the crud out of Father to this day."

"Huh. I may _actually_ do a story about this," she said, rubbing her chin as her mind began working on several angles she could take. Actual weird story about Patton that were true just didn't drop on her doorstep. As if remembering something else, she blinked, and suddenly brushed past the Arctic Commander. "Speaking of stories, Numbuh 11.0's been hogging the camera quite enough."

Georgette moved through the crowd of children, ignoring the calls of several attractions and tables lined with potluck lunches. While the Lemonade Luncheon wasn't her favorite event to live broadcast, she'd be darned if she deprived the world of her radiance in her KNN coverage.

As the redhead moved towards the main booth, no doubt where Numbuh 11.0 and the rest of her crew had wandered off to, she noticed Patton had fallen in step beside her. "What, are you stalking me now?"

Patton rolled his eyes. "Not my fault you happen to be walking towards…the…line."

She noted him trailing off and slowing to a stop. The girl mirrored his movements and stopped to gaze out to the sight that had Patton stunned.

There before them was a seemingly never-ending line of Kids Next Door operatives, veterans and cadets alike, all in a sloppy queue that stretched from sector A headquarters to the horizon far away. The clamor and commotion was audible before they crest the hill, and it seemed volunteer Moonbase staff had its hands full keeping the line in order.

Patton let loose a whistle. "If that don't beat all. We'll be lucky if there's any lemonade left by noon."

Georgette ignored his comment and scanned the field for her camera crew. Her eyes trailed over the massive line, settling on the lemonade counter poor Numbuh Rebecca was trying to keep in order. A daunting task, if the rabid operatives around her were any indication.

When she picked out a few of those operatives wearing dress suits and holding the most expensive camera equipment lunch money could buy, she strode towards the stand with renewed purpose.

"WE WANT LEMONADE! WE WANT LEMONADE!"

"Please, everyone, settle down!" Numbuh Rebecca meekly called out, trying to ebb the never ending wave of complaints and whines. "It'll be a bit before we can start serving the first round!"

"Numbuh 11.0, KNN," Numbuh 11.0 quickly introduced before leaning the mic towards Rebecca. "Is it true this year's batch of lemonade is supposed to be the most yummylicious ever?"

"No need to fret, my good public, armature hour is officially over." Numbuh 11.0 found the microphone plucked from his hand and a sly Numbuh 10 jumping in front of him as she leaned towards the overwhelmed booth attendant. "Numbuh 10, KND Nightly News. Numbuh Rebecca, is it true this year's lemonade supply was contaminated with hamster droppings?"

"W-What? No!" Rebecca said aghast. "How could you think of suggesting such a thing?"

"I know, right? Normally my moral compass keeps me from spreading such slander." Georgette lowered the mic and began twirling her hair. "But you see, I'm so very thirsty, and I think it's impairing my judgement…"

Rebecca blinked before scoffing. "I won't be falling for any of your tricks, Numbuh 10. You'll wait in line like everyone else."

"Ha!" Georgette slumped defeated against the counter as Patton came up laughing. He coolly leaned against the stand and sent a smug grin towards the redhead. "So much for being able to talk your way into anything, huh, Georgy?"

"Don't be getting uppity, Numbuh 60," Rebecca snipped, Patton flinching in surprise. "Your pulling rank nonsense isn't going to work this year either. If Numbuh 362 couldn't get away with it, then neither can you."

"Aw, c'mon!" he whined, Georgette snickering once his all confident aura fizzled out. "My tongue is bone dry, for Zero's sake!"

"I'm sorry, but rules are rules." Rebecca shook her head before pointing behind Patton. "Just look what I have to deal with."

"WHAT DO WE WANT!?"

"LEMONADE!

"WHEN DO WE WANT IT!?"

"NOW!"

"Ah, I suppose you're right." Patton slowly nodded. Suddenly, his posture straightened and his hands snapped behind his back. Georgette was quick to surmise what was coming, and managed to slink away around Patton as performed a sharp about-face and yelled, " _Atten-SHUN!_ "

All operatives swarming the stand went rigid and not a peep was heard.

"Listen up! I want an orderly, single-file line in front of this booth, and you all will treat sector A with patience and respect as they serve us their delicious, sweet as can be, Amish style lemonade!" He paused before raising his voice an octave. " _Do I make myself clear!?_ "

All before him saluted. "SIR, YES SIR!"

"Well what are you waiting for?" He began swatting them away. " _Back it up_!"

The children dispersed, putting as much distance between them and the stand (as well as Numbuh 60) as humanly possible.

Rebecca let loose a breath she wasn't aware she had been holding and reached out to shake Patton's hand. "Oh, thank you kindly, sir! I thought they were about to riot."

Patton returned the handshake. "No problem, Numbuh Rebecca."

Rebecca nodded. She released his hand and smiled at him.

Patton returned the smile.

Rebecca's smile dimmed.

Patton still smiled.

Rebecca blinked.

Patton smiled expectantly as he eyes flicked between the line and the stand.

Rebecca frowned and shook her hands. "Shoo!"

"Awww man." Patton walked away in a slump as he stuffed his hands in his pockets. Rebecca rolled her eyes and went back to preparing the stand.

Georgette's covered her grin as Patton's walk of shame ended right in front of her. "That was almost precious."

"Shut up," he grumbled. "We're gonna be fighting over the back of the line the way this is going."

"This has got to be the longest one yet," Numbuh 11.0 spoke up as he watched, fascinated, as the line seemed to stretch out forever. He shifted his weight from foot to foot as he looked to his leader with excitement burning in his eyes. "Can I cover how many are in line this year? Pretty please?"

Georgette shrugged. "Go nuts."

"Oh boy!" Not needing to be told twice, Numbuh 11.0 rallied the Sector L crew and took off to face his assignment with feverous intent.

Patton raised a brow as he watched the boy begin his long count. "Not like you to let your co-anchor cover big events."

"Like the long line at the Lemonade Luncheon is some big juicy secret." Georgette then dramatically swept her hands around and proclaimed, "In other breaking news: Father is a jerk!"

Patton shook his head. "Whatever the case, looks like we just gotta find a spot, grin, and bear it."

"Ugh," Georgette huffed. "I'm fed up with this luncheon, I'm starving for a story, I'm thirsty for lemonade, and I'm tired of being patient and just hoping something interesting will happen!"

"Ah, but patience is a funny thing," a voice rang out in the crowd, drawing attention as kids curiously looked about. "Seems to me, the more of it you have, the longer ya gotta wait!"

Patton scratched his head as he looked around, but Georgette simply tensed as her eyes narrowed. "I know that voice…"

"And hey, I know they say the wait makes you appreciate," the voice continued, seemingly moving its way towards the front of the line. "But don't you fellas wanna appreciate your lemonade right now?"

Georgette clenched her fists and shut her eyes. "Please don't be him. Please don't be him…"

"If I could have your attention please. Your attention, please!" The murmur of kids seemed to lessen as a spry boy in a purple business suit jumped atop the lemonade counter. "I can deal with this trouble, friends, with a wave of my hand-this very hand!"

Patton seemed lost. "Who's that guy?"

"Aggrrh," Georgette growled. "It's _him_."

"If I could have your attention maybe, for I'm Numbuh _Crazy_ 80," the boy introduced as he spun around his cane and wiggled his straw-hat with a smile. "And I'm here to help organize this lemonade stand!"

 **transmission interrupted**


	2. Cup 2

Hate is such a strong word, but it's strength is so often misused. People hated it when their alarm went off, when they missed their favorite cartoon, when they woke up on the wrong side of the bed. People wasted hate on the pettiest of things.

Never let it be known that Numbuh 10 was above being petty, for as she stomped her way towards the lemonade stand with a curious Patton in tow, hate was something she was ready to use quite liberally.

Especially the longer she stared at the arrogant smile Numbuh 80 had slapped across his face.

"You!" she screeched, the crowd parting as she bulldozed through. Georgette snarled as her eyes narrowed, finger shaking as she held it against the purple-suited kid standing above her. "What are you doing here!?"

Numbuh 80 blinked, thrown off by the sudden interruption-one he didn't even cause! He looked down, smile disappearing as he recognized the green sundress, red-hair, and a face so irritatingly beautiful it made him roll his eyes.

"Well oh well, my eyes must be pulling a fast one because the _ever so lovely_ Numbuh 10 is standing before me." It only took him a second to compose himself, eyes twinkling with amusement as he calmly stepped down and bowed. "How's going, Georgy?"

"That's Numbuh 10, to you," Georgette hissed. "And my day was tolerable before you showed your stupid face."

Patton watched with mild interest as the two stared each other down. Noting movement to the side, he looked to see Numbuh 9-Film emerging from the crowd looking bored and holding a can of bug spray.

9-Film yawned, oblivious to the world around him until his sights landed on the two redheads in front of the stand. After taking a moment to register what was going on, he smiled. "Hey, Numbuh 80's here. This day just got a heckuva lot more exciting."

Patton frowned. "Isn't Numbuh 80 that kid that goes around pitching gimmicky 2x4 gadget ideas? You guys know him?"

"Of course we know him, he used to work with us," 9-Film answered as he crossed his arms, waiting for the show to start as he noted Georgette's eye twitching and 80's smirk growing. "Numbuh 80 used to be our Advertisement and Commercial 2x4 Specialist. He's probably the only guy who could try and steal the spotlight from Numbuh 10 and almost get away with it."

"If that's so, then why he isn't with you guys now?"

"I told you, he was the only one who could steal Georgette's spotlight and almost get away with it; keyword being _almost_." 9-Film shrugged. "The last time he tried was the, well, _last time_ he tried."

"What's that mean?"

"Means ol' Georgy couldn't handle some competition and fired me," Numbuh 80 smoothly answered, smiling as he spared Patton and the rest of sector L a side-glance. "Don't talk so low, Numbuh 60, I don't bite. Can't say the same for Numbuh 10. And fellas!" he said happily as he walked towards sector L, arms open. "It's been far too long!"

"Hey! Don't you associate with themlike I'm not here!" Georgette said as she put herself between Numbuh 80 and her team before possessively encircling her arms around the group. She shot 80 a dark look as she said, "Stay away from my crew, fraud. You sully their talent with your presence."

Numbuh 11.0 grinned despite the uncomfortable grip Georgette had over them. "Gosh, Numbuh 10, that's almost nice of you to say about us."

"Don't get cocky, 11.0, it's bad for the brand," she said as she released them. Her hands went to her hips as she glared down the sales-kid. "Look at this sad specimen if you want an example."

Numbuh 80 rose a brow. "I'm sad specimen now?"

"You say it like it's a surprise," Georgette laughed. "The only kid I can think that's sadder than you is the guy who invented the Blow-up-the-engines-button."

"Hey, attack my credentials all you want, but that kid is a good friend of mine and I will not have you criticize a party that's not even present to defend themselves," Numbuh 80 said, marching up towards the redhead with an indignant frown. "Downright cowardly is what that is!"

"Oh what? You're a defender of the downtrodden all of a sudden? Where was that shining example of character back at the studio?"

"I was an _example_ of what sector L studios should've been producing," he fought back. "I was thinking of production values, ratings, sales, income and revenue. All you were concerned about was getting your pretty mug on as many television sets as possible!"

"Like more of me on TV is a bad thing," she said, doing a tiny sashay and blowing a kiss to the crowd, garnering cheers and cries of adoration. Her smile vanished as she flicked at 80's bow-tie. "And I love how you neglected to mention how one of your 'concerns' was seeing how much you could funnel out of the treehouse piggy bank when you thought no one was looking."

"THE COURTS PROVED I WAS FRAMED AND YOU KNOW-I'm not doing this." He said calmly as he took a deep breath. He adjusted his hat and began walking past Georgette with a content smile. "As riveting as catching up with you would be, you once again are simply distracting from my true calling."

Georgette scoffed. "And what would that be?"

"Why, the very thing that keeps me up at night, my dear." He spun his cane with a flourish before using it to direct to the mass of kids behind them in line. "Attending to the well-being of my public, of course."

Georgette looked as if she had been slapped. " _Your_ public!?"

"Alright, alright!" another voice joined in. The crowd parted slightly as Numbuh Jebediah broke his way through. He hefted up his pants as he puffed out his chest authoritatively. "Now what's all this commotion about?"

"Numbuh Jebediah, my dear old pal!" Numbuh 80 sprung up from behind the boy, catching him by surprise as he guided him through the crowd. "How's your day treating you?"

"Uh, what?" the boy stuttered out. "F-Fine, I suppose?"

"Fine he says! Friend, either you're closing your eyes to a situation you do not wish to acknowledge, or you are not aware of the caliber of _disaster_ indicated by this long line in your luncheon," Numbuh 80 said, pointed towards the winding queue of operatives growing more rowdy by the minute. "Ya got trouble, my friend."

"I got trouble?"

"I say, trouble right here in sector A!" Numbuh 80 detached himself from the confused boy, opting instead to prance towards the line.

A young cadet sighed as the line continued to not move. Someone tapped on his shoulder, and he looked only to see no one there. Blinking, he returned his attention forward only to discover some kid in a weird, purple business suit had slipped in front of him. "Hey!"

"Why sure, I'm a patient line-waiter myself," Numbuh 80 continued from his newly acquired place in the queue. "Certainly mighty proud to say so. I consider the hours I've spent waiting in queues golden." He leant on the operative front of him, tipping his hat and going on to say, "Helped me cultivate common sense. A cool head. A keen eye." He smirked down at the annoyed kid behind him. "But you ever find yourself staring off to space in line wondering which is moving faster, you or the clouds above you?"

The child looked ready to rat him out, but paused and considered 80's words. "Actually, sometimes…"

Numbuh 80 patted the boy on the head before removing himself from line, curious eyes following him. "And just as I say, it takes judgement, brains, and maturity to be patient, but the fact that any boob can take advantage and just _cut in line_ ," he frowned, stopping and using the end of his cane to pluck a startled Numbuh 363 out from line, whom was certain no one saw him cut. "Well, I'd say that's _sloth_."

Harvey growled as Numbuh 80 chucked him away. "Hey!"

"Yes indeed, the first step towards madness is having young-ones cut in line," he then gestured to two boys further up who froze under the sudden scrutiny, "then older operatives holding places for folks who were late!"

Numbuh 74.239 shrunk under the heated looks while Numbuh Infinity huffed. "I was handling very important diplomatic affairs, and 74.239 was simply holding my spot-"

"Oh no you don't!" Fanny snapped from behind, grabbing Infinity by his collar. "It's not fair that ye think ye can just strut to the front while the rest of us have been waiting here for hours!"

"Oh, but this line is only gonna get longer my friends. I say, this line is just gonna get longer," Numbuh 80 gravely intoned, hands and cane folded behind his back as people murmured around him. "Never mind that the longer you wait, the risk of missions piling up quadruple-fies."

From his position, Nigel paled as 80's words echoed in his mind.

"Never mind that the longer you wait, the bigger the chance is you'll miss Doctor Time-Space."

"But tonight's the season premiere where we find out if the Doctor survived the deplanetization of Novalis!" Rachel started freaking out aloud as she chewed her nails. Upon noticing eyes on her, she coughed and shifted her eyes. "Or, uh, so I've heard…"

"The thought makes my blood boil! And the entire situation comes down to a science, folks. The trouble you're in and this line are related. Let me me tell you what I mean," he whispered, crooking his finger as several operatives leaned in close. "Ya got one, two, three, four, five, six letters between them."

"Between what?" a kid asked.

"Between L and T. You're all in big trouble. Trouble with a capital T. Which we have established is six letters away from L. And can anyone tell me what word starts with L?"

Everyone chatted amongst themselves before someone screamed out. "Line starts with the letter L!"

"Ah ha!" Numbuh 80 shouted, raising a finger to the sky. "A correlation!"

Patton watched as the chatter around Numbuh 80 grew, and resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "People are actually buying this crud?"

"This is exactly what I'm talking about! His facts are outrageous!" Georgette proclaimed. "There's _seven_ letters between L and T, so the correlation isn't as strong as he thinks. Duh!"

Patton stared at the redhead for a long moment before slowly dragging a hand down his face.

"But fear not, my good people, because you want to know what else starts with L?" Numbuh 80 asked with a grin. "Lemonade!"

The crowd whispered, "Lemonade?"

"Don't be shy, what are you here for?"

"Lemonade!"

"And lemonade you shall have!" Numbuh 80 shouted back with matching intensity. "But you must be asking yourselves, 'Numbuh 80, we've been waiting on lemonade for hours!' Well, after today, you won't have to wait anymore, for behold!"

As he finished his sentence, Numbuh 80 took off and vanished around the corner of sector A's barn. Before anyone could question his disappearance, he reappeared, pushing some large, veiled contraption along with him.

"Feast your eyes and be amazed, for the yearly wait and turmoil endured at the Lemonade Luncheon has finally come to an end. Folks, I am ever so honored to present to you," he whipped back the curtain, revealing a large device that could be best be described as an oil tank on wheels with a vacuum cleaner duct-taped to the side, "Numbuh Crazy 80's Crazy Lemonade Machine!"

"Oh _wow_ ," Georgette laughed, slowly clapping as she walked around the machine, stifling giggles at the boy's craftsmanship. "Nice dumpster you got there."

"It's not a dumpster, it's opportunity," Numbuh 80 ignored the redhead and went back to his growing audience. "One I intend to share with the KND community."

Operatives had gathered around the machine, looking it over and poking it cautiously. One venturous youth asked, "How does it work?"

"I'd be thrilled to show you." Numbuh 80 twirled his cane and poked it into the crowd, fishing out a dizzy looking Numbuh Jebediah. "Hey, Jebediah! Might I kindly borrow one of your home-grown with care lemons for my little demonstration?"

"Uh, I don't see why not," Jebediah slowly said as he waited for the world to stop spinning. "I suppose it'd be inhospitable of me to say no."

"Much obliged!" Numbuh 80 calmly strutted over to the lemonade counter, taking a moment to stuck his tongue out at Georgette as he passed. He cared not for her reaction, as he saddled up to the counter and tipped his straw hat towards Numbuh Rebecca. "Looking lovely as ever, Rebecca. May I?"

"Oh you," Rebecca giggled as she handed him a lemon. The boy winked, then twirled the lemon on his finger before chucking it towards the machine.

As the lemon approached, a green light blinked on the vacuum cleaner. It sucked up the lemon as it came close, and the machine gave a slow groan and a puff of steam as it began processing the fruit.

Everyone in attendance, sans Georgette, watched entrapped as the machine buzzed, whirred, and spluttered as the lemon traveled through its bowels. Numbuh 80 calmly walked to his creation, patting its under belly, and holding a small paper cup under the spigot.

"And there you have it, folks," Numbuh 80 proudly said as the juice deposited into his cup. "Fresh as a daisy."

"Fresh as Gramma Stuffem's liverwurst maybe," Georgette said, making her voice loud and clear. She walked straight up to Numbuh 80, arms crossed and far from impressed. "We all came here for fresh _quality_ lemonade. Not some knock-off flavored tap water."

Numbuh 80 snorted, but grinned as an idea formed. "Well, if you're so confident it's crud, Georgy, then why don't you take the first sip?"

He held the cup to her face and she responded by scrunching her nose. "You've got to be joking."

"I believe your 'professional integrity' as you call it won't allow you lie, and I don't joke about business, sweetheart," Numbuh 80 grinned as he swirled the lemonade around. "Don't tell me the famous Numbuh 10 is chicken?"

Face flushed with anger, Georgette slowly leaned into Numbuh 80's. He blinked, uncomfortable with her closeness, and found his cup swiped from his hand and himself pushed to the ground as Georgette smirked.

"Don't call me sweetheart, _sweetheart_ ," she said with a wicked grin before chugging the lemonade. She swished it around for a moment, gauging the taste, before swallowing with a nosy " _ah_."

She grinned as she prepared a scathing review of Numbuh 80's brew. After she was done ripping him a new one, he'd be lucky to volunteer at a lemonade stand after this!

But just as she was about to let loose, that's when the lemonade settled.

You see, Numbuh 10 had been so thirsty.

She had been waiting for lemonade just as long as everyone else.

And to finally get some, even if it was from Numbuh 80?

Even she couldn't deny the satisfactory tingle as her taste buds sighed with content and her thirst had been partially satiated.

"Ah," she softly said, eyes closing in peace as she suddenly smiled. "That hit the spot."

"Holy crud, she actually -I-I mean, there you go, folks!" Numbuh 80 scrambled up from the ground, grasping Georgette's shoulder like they were all buddy-buddy. "Straight from the lovely Numbuh 10 herself! You can't beat that kind of endorsement!"

Georgette's eyes snapped open as reality slammed into her. "W-Wait! I didn't endorse-"

"She's absolutely reeling with joy!" Numbuh 80 quickly interrupted. Smirking, he took Georgette's hand and began twirling her around, spinning her around non-stop until he finally set her loose and flung her away. "Can you blame her?"

Georgette was sent spinning wildly back towards her teammates. Patton wisely jumped out of the way, but the rest of sector L wasn't as quick on the draw, for they found themselves bowled over by their illustrious leader and sent screaming to the ground.

"You've seen it, you believe it, so what more can I say?" Numbuh 80 asked? "Come on people, give me some feedback!"

Numbuh 23 rubbed her chin. "Sounds cool, dude, but I'm not sold."

Numbuh 80 passed her a fresh glass. "Only because you've yet to taste liquid gold."

Numbuh 13 raised his hand. "Will there be enough until the end?"

"Enough for you," 80 said as he made more cups, "and all your friends."

Sonia twiddled her thumbs and said, "Will there be a long wait time?"

"Not on my watch," 80 answered as he gave her a glass then held out his hand. "It'll only costs a dime."

Sonia took a slow sip, grinned, and dug in her pockets and produced a dime for the boy. Numbuh 80 flipped the coin in his hand, smirking as he tapped his machine with his cane. "No more line waiting, no more time wasting. Why are you all standing around you could be drinking…?"

The crowd cheered, "Lemonade!"

"That's right folks!"

"Lemonade!"

"One more time!"

" _Lemonade!_ "

From the dogpile, Georgette rose and screamed, "Did you see what he did? My nails are broken!"

"No one cares, boss," 9-Film grunted before pointing towards the mass. "The mob has spoken."

"Lemonade!"

Numbuh 80 laughed, "Raise your hands!"

"Lemonade!"

"Say it again!"

" _LEMONADE_!"

"That's it! I've had it with this dog-and-pony show!" Georgette said with reverence. She pushed her team off of her, then briskly walked up to the sales-kid in question as she jabbed her finger at his chest. "Just who do you think you are?"

Numbuh 80 smiled as he raised his hat. "Numbuh _Crazy-_ "

"Don't care," Georgette snipped as she pinched his lips shut. "I'm on to you, cheapskate."

Numbuh 80 blinked. "Mmmpf?"

"Don't be coy, that's my thing!" Georgette said as she released his lips, the boy rubbing them as she went on. "Think you can pull a fast one on me? Don't make me laugh. You think you can just waltz in here and upstage me? Dream on."

Numbuh 80 made a sound of understanding before he raised his hands in a placating matter. "I assure you, that was not my intention coming here today. There seems to some misunderstanding here. I don't _think_ I can upstage you." He then smirked and leaned in closely to whisper, "Because it's clearly evident I already _did_."

Georgette's eye twitched and Numbuh 80 felt a shiver go down his spine. Faster than a blink, Georgette snatched his cane from his hands, and rose it threateningly in the air.

"Numbuh 10!"

The cane stopped mere inches away from 80's head, and Georgette turned away from the cowering boy to the disproving Numbuh Jebediah whom had just shown up.

The sector A's leader expression was stern. "I won't be tolerating any violence here today, so ye best be putting that down before I throw you and your sector out."

"Violence? Oh no, Jebediah. There's no violence here," Georgette said sweetly. "Numbuh 80 was being all clumsy and dropped his cane. I'm just doing the neighborly thing and giving him a hand."

"Didn't seem that way to me."

"Oh, you know us city-folk and how we do things," Georgette said as she pushed the cane back into its owner's hands. "Isn't that right, Numbuh 80?"

Numbuh 80 was clearly not amused with his treatment, but figured he'd had his fun for the moment. "Of course, Numbuh 10. Just a bit of professional discourse, is all."

Jebediah shook his head and decided to just let it go. "Whatever. Look, I'm glad I caught ya, Numbuh 80. I've been meaning to talk with you."

"What about, my good man?"

"Your little, uh, demonstration," Jebediah said, motioning awkwardly to 80's bulky machine. "I'm not quite sure how I feel about this lemonade machine doo-hickey."

"That's right!" Georgette spoke up as if she just remembered something. "Amish means no technology. Which means you and your…" she paused, leering at the machine, "toy, have to go. Too bad, so sad."

"Ah, but my friend, you must realize I brought my invention out of the goodness of my heart," Numbuh 80 said. "I brought it here for the good of the community, including you! Why, I don't think I can take seeing the three of you work yourselves to the bone and deal with constant supply and demand drama. My lemonade machine is just the answer to all your woes!"

"Spare me," Georgette groaned. "All you care about is how to make a quick buck."

Numbuh Jebediah shook his head. "Numbuh 80, we're Amish. We can't use your machine. It's just not our way."

"Who said anything about you using it?" Numbuh 80 inquired. "You three just sit back, relax, cough over those lemons, and I can handle all the lemonade this year. We get happy customers, and you can go back to your barn tonight blister-less!"

"So _that's_ your game!" Georgette whipped on the boy, grinning victoriously as if she had caught him red-handed. "You're trying to push sector A out of the lemonade business!"

"What? No, it's not like that-"

"Oh, this is good. This is _great!_ " she said giddily to herself. "The story I've been waiting for: Two-bit Conman takes advantage of defenseless Farmhands. You're never going to live this down!"

"Not wait just a-"

"Ah, no, no. Even BETTER!" she exclaimed, shocking the two boys before her. "Humble Farmhands show Two-bit Conman who's Boss! That's just brilliant. These stories basically make themselves, baby!"

" _What_ in the name of gum are you going on about?"

"I'm going on about how I'm about to cover the greatest underdog story of all time!" Numbuh 10 squealed as she danced around. "You and sector A are going to have a lemonade off!"

Numbuh 80 paused. "We are?"

"Yes! And sector A will wipe the floor with you!"

Jebediah blinked. "We will?"

"YES! It's going to be perfect! It's classic Kid vs Metal, Nature vs Machine, Ol' Fashioned vs Qucik'n'Easy!"

"Hold your horses, Numbuh 10," Jebediah tried to interrupt before things got out of hand. "There isn't going to be any lemonade off."

"I must agree," Numbuh 80 chimed in. "A lemonade off would simply be unfair to sector A."

Numbuh Jebediah nodded. "Yes, it would be un-…I beg your pardon?"

"No offense, of course!" Numbuh 80 nervously laughed off. "But Jebediah, my machine increases lemonade production by a bahzillion percent! You've seen what I can do with just one lemon. I totally have you at an unfair advantage."

Jebediah consider this as his mind wandered back to the demonstration. "You…may have a point…"

"Don't you dare let him demoralize you!" Georgette quickly said, running up to Jebediah and patting his back. "You guys have totally got this in the bag. Besides, me and my team are behind you all the way."

Numbuh 80 shocked them by suddenly doubling over and laughing. " _You_? Make _lemonade_? HA! Georgy, I'd almost PAY to see that."

"Don't worry, you'll get to see it for free," she shot back. "And all I ask for in return is a front-row seat to the stupid look on your face when I-uh, I mean, _we_ crush you."

"That's tempting. That's really tempting," Numbuh 80 mused before shrugging it off and walking away. "But I think I'll pass. As much as I'd love to be a part of your story, Numbuh 10 I…quite honestly don't want to be part of your story."

Georgette cursed to herself before a lightbulb went off. "What if we made a wager?"

"Now you're speaking my language," Numbuh 80 chuckled as he reappeared at her side. "What did you have in mind?"

"We make it an _actual_ competition," Georgette challenged. "First team to make the most lemonade by noon wins, simple as that."

"Simple is how I like it," Numbuh 80 grinned. He then developed a sly look as he wagged his finger. "And to make sure it stays interesting; the sector leader of the winning team gets to decide what the loser has to do."

"Don't worry, _she_ has already decided that you will be my special guest in an interview which you go before the entire Kids Next Door to describe just how much a fraud you really are," Georgette sinisterly grinned. "Yes, I think those terms will do quite nicely."

"It's gonna take a lot more than terms to win this contest, Georgy." Numbuh 80 offered one last wink, snatched up his can, and headed towards his machine. "Good luck, Jebediah. You're going to need it with her."

"The only one needing luck is you!" Georgette childishly called back. Numbuh 80 simply stuck his tongue out, and Georgette mirrored the action as she dragged the poor Amish boy off. "Come on, Jebediah. We have a contest to win."

"B-But I don't wanna be in any…" he began to say, but trailed off as he realized Georgette wasn't listening. He simply let her cart him along, resigned to his fate. "Ah, confound it."

 **transmission interrupted**


	3. Cup 3

**A/N** : _Just to avoid further confusion, Numbuh 80 does exists and is not an OC. He appears in SCIENCE for like, thirty seconds. It's kind of arrogant for me to assume everyone remembers every single minor character, so my bad for not make that clearer._

 _So, uh, yeah. Sorry about that!_

 _Also while I'm thinking about it, Georgette is the [PENDING] name of Numbuh 10 in my fics now. So just ignore the whole "Stacey" stuff from previous fics if you're confused about that. I'll fix it. Eventually._

 _Resuming transmission and such..._

* * *

Patton carefully walked around as the commotion died down. Once Numbuh 80 had finished his bit, things had seemingly settled. The boy made his way to sector L, whom were straightening themselves out after Georgette's little accident.

"You guys okay?"

"Yeah, we're fine," Numbuh 1-8-5-7, a low-key member of Ten's team, said as she rubbed her back. "This is why I prefer backstage; never thought I'd literally get mowed over by the boss."

Numbuh 12th Guard grunted as he messaged his neck. "I'll say."

Patton watched the group then looked over to where Georgette disappeared to with mild interest. "I think she went over to hound Numbuh 80."

"Figures," Numbuh 11.0 spoke up. The excitement had gotten to him, so he opted to sit down for a spell. "Numbuh 10 can't stand Numbuh 80."

"Why?"

"You saw how he is and you _know_ how the boss is," Numbuh 9-Film said as he adjusted his cap. "Not that big of a mystery, Sherlock."

Patton frowned. "Watch your tone, kid."

"No offense, sir, but I work under Numbuh 10. You don't scare me," 9-Film casually said. "Speaking of the boss, I feel like she's about to rope us into something ridiculously stupid."

"What makes you say that?"

"Listen up, team." Patton and sector L turned to see Georgette had returned, looking confident and ready to go to war. Numbuh Jebediah was there too, looking the exact opposite. "Vacation's over. We're about to put in some work and help sector A make a crud ton of lemonade!"

Patton rose a brow and looked over to 9-Film whom simply shrugged. "It's sixth sense or something."

"But Numbuh 10," Numbuh 11.0 bemoaned, "We've been working since we got here."

"Then consider this overtime," she said as she shook her fist. "We're gonna break records and put that straw hatted charlatan in his place."

Patton scooted closer to Jebediah and tapped his shoulder. "Mind filling us in?"

"Seems like Numbuh 10's instigated some friendly competition with Numbuh 80. Though the more I think on it, perhaps 'friendly' isn't the right word," Jebediah explained, finishing with a tired sigh. "She's challenged him to a lemonade off and dragged my team into the thick of it."

Georgette came up to Jebediah opposite of Patton and straightened his posture. "Slouching is unbecoming of a future winner, Jebediah. Besides, I told you my team and I are going to support you 100%."

9-Film wearily looked towards 12th Guard. "Why do I get the feeling _we're_ going to be doing 100% of the supporting?"

"That's no way to talk, Numbuh 9-Film. We need to be there for our fellow kids-in-arms," Georgette said before turning to her companion. "Right, Numbuh Jebediah?"

"I'm really starting to regret inviting you here every year."

"By the end of the day you'll be begging us to come back," Georgette waved off before pushing him away. "Now you go tell your team the good news while I make sure mine is ready to go."

Jebediah grumbled. "Guess I should be grateful we actually have help this year…"

"That's the spirit!" Georgette cheered before turning back to her team. "Okay guys, time to put your game-faces on."

Numbuh 1-8-5-7 groaned. "Are we really doing this?"

"Yes we're really doing this!" Georgette snapped. "Now if we're done whining, we've got to get to work. Numbuhs 11.0 and 1-8-5-7, you two go help sector A finish set up their stand. Numbuh 12th Guard, go to the SCAMPER and get all the 2x4 tools you can carry. Numbuh 9-Film, find me some overalls and cute work boots. I'm thinking I want to get a good country sort of style going on, but not too southern belle if you catch my drift-"

Patton suddenly stepped up with an easy-going sort of smile as he gently tapped Georgette on the shoulder. "Think I'm gonna have to stop you right there."

"Patton," Georgette sweetly cooed as she took his hand and pet it in her grasp. "I know we normally have this back-and-forth rapport going on, but I'm afraid I'm a bit busy focusing my energy on _making that insignificant spec rue the day he messed with me_. So how about you take a rain check, kay?"

"Oh, that'd be swell!" he answered with equal syrupy sweetness. "But as muuuuuch as I'd like to just kick back while you crash and burn, I think I'll actually feel bad if I don't give you a little advice."

"Really now? And what advice would that be?"

"Come on, Georgy, you're not that dense," Patton smirked as he slid his hand from her hold. "Just repeat back those last couple of lines to yourself."

Georgette frowned. "What, about making that insignificant spec rue the-"

"No," he said, smirk more subdued. "Before that."

"The southern belle thing? You actually think I can pull that off?"

"Before that."

"Getting tools from the SCAMPER-oh," Georgette ahhed and Patton let relief wash over him. However, his eye twitched when she huffed. "I don't get it. I forgot how much you love these stupid mind games."

"And I forgot who I'm dealing with," Patton mumbled before breathing in through his nose. "Okay, Georgette, think for a second. You're helping sector A, right? Sector A who happens to be Amish, right?"

"Congrats, Patton," Georgette slowly clapped, "you can pay attention."

"For the love of-YOU CAN'T USE YOUR TOOLS, DOO-DOO BRAIN!" Patton roared, blowing Georgette's red locks back and spooking any cadets within a twenty-yard radius. "They're _Amish_! You can't use 2x4 tech to help them because they're _AMISH_!"

Georgette looked unimpressed, waited for him to finish, and flicked his nose.

Patton yelped and began rubbing at his face while Georgette hummed to herself. "Darn it, that's right. Maybe I didn't think this through all the way."

"At least you saved me the trouble of saying it," Patton mumbled. Deciding his poor nose had taken enough punishment for one day, the drill commander began stomping away as he was prone to do. "Have fun figuring the rest out. I've got things to do, like not be here."

Georgette broke from her train of thought once she realized he was leaving. "Hold on, you're not helping?"

"Sounds about right," he said over his shoulder. "Last I checked, I'm not a part of your little circus act."

"Patton, wait!" she said, quickly shortening the distance between them and grabbing his arm. "You can't just leave me like this. That loser's already gotten a head start and I need to beat him!"

The boy arched a brow. "And to do that, you need me?"

"See, that wording assumes a lot about my dependency on you," she said hesitantly before quickly adding, "Which is nonexistent, just to set the record straight."

"In that case, you should be fine."

"Don't make me say the P word," she groaned. After a brief silent, she gasped and jerked her hands away. "You want me to say the P word, don't you!?"

He shrugged. "It'd be a start."

"I can't believe you," she huffed as she turned her back to him. "Fine then. Go. Do me a favor and try not to cry when you see my special on sector A's victory tonight and realize you could've been part of the greatness unfolding here."

Patton gave her a mock salute. "I'll be sure to tune in."

With that, he began heading down the hill, leaving Georgette smirking with her eyes closed. She had played this little game a buhmillion times before. Just play a little hard to get, wait for them break, and watch as they came crawling back. Because they always came crawling back.

It was only a matter of time.

It took all of four seconds before she was running after him again.

For that was how long it took for her to remember this was _Patton_ she was dealing with.

* * *

"Alright, team," Georgette said seriously as she addressed the children before her. After a few minor setbacks, the leader of sector L had swapped out of her reporter attire for clothes more suitable for the hard labor she was about to put her team through.

She paced back and forth, her giant, floppy sunhat casting a shadow around her before she sharply turned to her sector. "This is where we separate the frauds from the stars. It's time to buckle down and show that lame brain who the real lemonade makers are. Any questions before we begin?"

Numbuh 11.0 raised his hand.

"Yes, you in the front."

"Can I go back to counting how many people are in line instead?"

"You're going to be counting the number of days left in your two weeks' notice if you don't start taking this seriously."

"But boss," 9-Film spoke up, "we don't know the first thing about making lemonade from scratch."

"Pffft, don't give me that excuse," she said as she crossed her arms. "It's one of the easiest things in the world."

9-Film was not convinced. "Then how 'bout you give us some instructions, boss?"

Georgette faltered a bit before loudly laughing. "Ah, I think I better let sector A handle this. They can simplify it for you. Jebediah?"

Despite still not knowing if this was a good idea, Numbuh Jebediah shook it off and folded up his sleeves. "Ain't really nothing to making lemonade, just need to be willing to put in work. First thing we need is to make sure the lemons are scrubbed."

Georgette snapped her fingers. "12th Guard, 1-8-5-7, get to scrubbing!"

"Once we got enough of them cleaned," Jebediah continued as he moved to a separate table next to Rebecca and took out a knife. "We gotta cut 'em. Be sure to do it lengthwise, and as thinly as possible."

Georgette looked at 9-Film and 11.0. "You heard him!"

Jebediah turned the two over to Rebecca as he went to attend to the batch currently in process. 9-Film looked over the knife before shrugging and getting to work. 11.0 was having a bit more trouble, having issues cutting his knife into his lemon.

Rebecca noticed this and went over to him. "Be careful, Numbuh 11.0."

"No worries, Rebecca," Numbuh 11.0 said as he sawed into the lemon. "I may not look like it, but I help my mom do this sort of thing all the-AHH!" He screamed as a bit of juice squirted into his eye. "IT BURNS!"

Jebediah rolled his eyes. "Numbuh Ezekiel, would ya help the fella out?"

Georgette watched as the kids slowly got to work. Her eyes wandered over to the other member of her team simply sitting off to the side in a lawn-chair. "Would it kill you to be productive?"

"I'll get to that once I figure out how I let you talk me into this," Patton said. The commander had decided to man the sales counter, his presence deterring the more rowdy customers. He lazily flipped through a pamphlet he acquired from one of the booths, and would look up into the distance every so often. "But I did decide to scope out the competition. Better than having to listen to you yell at your team for another fifteen minutes."

"That is…actually not a bad idea," Georgette reluctantly admitted as she made her away behind him. She rose the brim of her sunhat, looking across the field with a sneer as Numbuh 80 sent away another happy customer. "Anything juicy? Is he playing dirty? Doing something worth blackmailing him over?"

"Nope," Patton drawled out as he turned another page. "But if he starts kicking puppies, you'll be the first to know."

Georgette grumbled, folding her arms across Patton's head and drumming her fingers impatiently against his beanie. The boy paused briefly but simply grunted and ignored how he had become a makeshift table. "No, he wouldn't risk sleazing this up. He's going to make me work for this, the jerk."

Patton rolled his eyes. "For starters, you would actually have to be working to-HOLY CRUD!"

"What?" Georgette shot forward, grinning ear to ear as she scanned for 80's slip-up. "What'd he do!?"

"HE JUST MADE A CUP LEMONADE!"

"Would you cut it out!?" Georgette snarled as she bopped Patton upside the head, the boy only taking it in stride and continuing to laugh. "You're more of a slacker than a sentry!"

Patton calmed his chuckles before speaking again. "I'm just reporting what I see."

"Ugh!" Georgette cried as she pouted. "How the heck I'm supposed to win this stupid contest with you goofing off?"

"You could start by actually helping make the lemonade."

Georgette threw her head back and let out a long whine.

"Okay, okay," Patton said as he rose. "If I did it with you, would you quit the complaining?"

"It's not complaining, it's constructive criticism," she said as her cheeks puffed. "But I'll play along. Only if you do your fair share, though!"

"I swear," Patton began as he tucked away his pamphlet, "I'll make sure I-SWEET RAINBOW MONKEY MARY!"

"What!?"

"HE MADE _ANOTHER_ CUP!"

" _PATTON!_ "

* * *

Some time had passed, the morning sun rising a bit higher in the sky over the Lemonade Luncheon. All booths and attractions had been closed, the owners and organizers taking breaks to actually drink some lemonade. It was normally a long, boring affair, but this year proved to be breaking that trend.

With two lemonade venues, activity seemed much more lively.

Despite a few hiccups and splutters, Numbuh 80's Lemonade Machine was making decent progress. Having been granted his own stock of lemons, the eager sales-kid circled his prized invention around the clock to pump out a constant stream of sweet, juicy, lemonade.

The sector A camp was also faring well. With the additional helping hands, the Amish Kids Next Door found themselves working into a comfortable groove. The pressure was tremendously lessened on their end, and they quite enjoyed the more easy-going pace.

They would've enjoyed it even more if Numbuh 10 wasn't constantly badgering everyone, but hey, life wasn't perfect.

Speaking of Numbuh 10, Georgette buzzed around the area, checking in with every station and earning her reputation as a constant taskmaster.

"Quality check!" Georgette said as she sprang up out of nowhere. Sector L groaned, and reluctantly lined up in a row and held out cups of lemonade.

Starting from 9-Film, she took a sip and spit it out. "Too much salt."

She moved down to 12th Guard.

"Eck! Too sour."

1-8-5-7.

"Way too sweet," she said after smacking her lips. The three walked off, 12th Guard and 1-8-5-7 grumbling while 9-Film nonchalantly chucked his lemonade off somewhere. Georgette faced a smiling Numbuh 11.0, about to take his glass when she paused and blink. "Numbuh 11.0, what's this?"

The boy blinked back, confused. "It's lemonade."

Georgette rose a brow. "Why is it pink?"

Numbuh 11.0 looked to his glass, the pink liquid shimmering in the sun, then looked back to his leader. "Haven't you ever heard of pink lemonade, ma'am?"

"Yes," Georgette said slowly. "But we don't have the ingredients for pink lemonade. _How_ on Earth did you make this?"

Numbuh 11.0 beamed. "The secret ingredient is love."

"That's _precious_ ," Georgette fawned, folding her hands against her cheek. She then reached forward to take the glass. "I'll just take this," emptied the contents on the ground, "pour it out," and handed the cup back to a crushed Numbuh 11.0 "and give you back this glass so you can make lemonade that's not pink."

Numbuh 11.0 stared into his empty glass as he walked away with a sniffle.

Georgette nodded to herself as Patton came up from the rear. He watched 11.0 walk off and followed him with his eyes, appearing a tad concerned. "Was that necessary?"

"It's called tough love," Georgette responded as she picked at her nails. "I know he can do better. Kid's a well of potential, but the guys have gotta stop coddling him."

"I guess I can understand that," Patton said, unsure as he continued to watch the boy. "But geez, Georgette, I think he's about to cry."

"This isn't a game, Patton. It's war. You can't make lemonade without breaking a few eggs," she said with a confident nod. "Speaking of which, give me your lemonade. Surprise quality check."

"See, I'd hand it over had I not already gave it to that kid there," Patton said as he jerked his thumb over his shoulder, pointing towards an operative walking away drinking a cool glass of juice. "And I don't think you're gonna want it back once he's done with it."

"How could you!?" Georgette screamed, scandalized and debating going over and knocking the cup from the kid's hand. "T-That wasn't quality assured! We need to make sure we serve the best gosh-darned lemonade possible!"

"The lemonade is fine, Georgette," Patton tried to assure when it appeared the redhead was about to pop a gasket. "And not to say quality isn't important, but shouldn't quantity get a bit more priority given the terms of the contest?"

"Why should I have to compromise when you people are perfectly capable of giving me both?" Georgette responded. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught Numbuh 80 walking towards one of the outhouses nearby.

Smirking deviously, Georgette swiped up a nearby glass of lemonade and Patton watched, off-put, as she took long, exaggerated sips.

"Mmm-MMM! Why, Patton, this has got to be the _bestest_ lemonade ever!" she said, raising her voice and inwardly dancing with glee when 80 stopped and looked her way. "People are gonna be lining up for MILES to take a swig of this. Sure would hate to be the competition right now!"

Numbuh 80 stared at her before cupping a hand around his ear. "I'm sorry, what?"

Georgette frowned. "I said that-"

"What?"

"I SAID THAT-"

"Sorry, Georgy. I can't hear you over the sound of my fortieth glass being sold," 80 finished smugly. He then yelped and ducked into the outhouse, slamming the door shut just as a glass of lemonade crashed against it.

Georgette looked absolutely livid as her fists clenched and arms went rigid at her sides. Someone tapped her shoulder and she reeled, all but screaming, "WHAT!?"

"Do you want to try this cup, ma'am?" Numbuh 11.0 meekly said, and Georgette winced at his wet cheeks and blubbering expression. "The secret ingredient this time is my sadness."

Georgette gingerly took the cup, noting at least it wasn't pink this time as she took a gauging sip. She swallowed, frowned, and said, "Too-"

"Ahem."

Her eyes flickered over to Patton, whom had his arms crossed and gave her a look that warned of consequence if she didn't choose her next words wisely.

She forced a smile as she handed the glass back to Numbuh 11.0 and said, "-perfect. You're doing a good job, Numbuh 11.0."

The boy's despair faded away instantly at her words. "Gee, thanks, ma'am!"

"No problem," Georgette said sweetly, waiting until he was out of earshot before glaring daggers at a smirking Patton. "Happy?"

"Just doing you a favor," he chuckled as he bent over slightly to get face level. "Gotta keep morale up if you wanna win this thing."

Georgette sneered at his smug grin. After a moment, a small little grin of her own blossomed. Before Patton could question this, the redhead swiftly brought up her hand, flicked his nose, and turned with a flourish before strutting back over to the stand, leaving a flustered and grumbling Patton in her wake.

* * *

"Alright, Numbuh 1-8-5-7," Georgette said as she shooed away another served customer. "Status report."

"We made good progress this last hour. Numbuh 60 got that last batch of lemons scrubbed in record time, and Numbuh 12th Guard balanced out our salt distribution," the girl went on as she flipped through her notebook. "Plus with that last kid, we're up to three hundred and twenty-two cups."

"Music to my ears," Georgette practically sang. "And our so very un-loveable competition? He must be wetting his pants trying to catch up."

Numbuh 1-8-5-7 quietly coughed and averted her eyes.

Georgette slowly narrowed her eyes. "I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch that."

1-8-5-7 sighed before bracing herself. "Last count showed Numbuh 80 to be up to three hundred and twenty-six cups."

"Give me that!" Georgette snapped as she swiped the notebook. Her eyes went over the numbers and found her nails digging into the paper the longer the list went on. "I can't believe this. It's like no matter what we do, we just keep lagging behind that loser!"

"Charts don't lie, ma'am."

"We need to work faster, where's sector A? This is their luncheon, why aren't they making more?"

"They went to get lunch."

"What's 11.0 doing?"

"Getting more water."

"9-Film?"

"Not caring."

"Do I even want to know what Patton is doing?"

"Went to the bathroom, I think."

"That's just peachy," Georgette muttered before slumping against the counter. Her eyes wandered towards her wrist-watch and found her patience thinning. It was almost noon and they were still only almost winning. "As if this day could get any worse."

"Why hello, my dear. Might I trouble you for some lemonade?"

"Why certainly you-YOU!" Georgette raged as Numbuh 80 winked. "What are you doing over here?"

"I just couldn't help but notice how much you were struggling. Must be unbearable being so close to victory yet seeing it slip through those polished fingers of yours," he said smoothly as he tapped his cane against the hard-wood. "So being the swell, sportsmanly like kinda guy I am, I thought I'd be the bigger kid and help you out by buying a cup from your camp. Heck, make it two!"

"We reserve the right to refuse service to jerkwads," Georgette spat. "So take a hike, I don't need your charity."

"Don't say I never tried, Georgy," Numbuh 80 as he leaned away from the stand to face Numbuh 1-8-5-7. "Sorry, Numbuh 1-8-5-7, but I'm gonna have to cut this social visit short. Count is up to three hundred and thirty-two."

The girl nodded. "Thanks for the heads up."

"Hold it!" Georgette called out as she swung her arms out. She reeled on 1-8-5-7, whom flinched upon realizing her mistake. "You've been _talking_ to him!?"

"How else am I supposed to know how many cups he's sold?"

"Get a hold of yourself, Georgette," Numbuh 80 said, holding his cane between the two girls trying to defuse the situation. "Our differences aside, I _am_ allowed to talk to my friends."

Georgette slapped his cane out of his hand. "I'll show you differences you-wait, _friends_?" She suddenly turned to the rest of sector L as they walked up. They had ventured over to see what the fuss was, but upon seeing their leader's glower, suddenly they wished they hadn't been so curious. "You all have been talking to him?"

Numbuh 12th Guard scratched at his neck as he looked down. "Yeah…"

Numbuh 11.0 squirmed under her gaze as he fingered his collar. "Kind of?"

Numbuh 9-Film shrugged. "Totally."

"H-How could you," she whispered. "I fired that clown!"

"Yes, _you_ did," Numbuh 80 said as he got her attention again. "But it wasn't like it was a vote. Just because you didn't like me, Georgette, doesn't mean everyone else thought the same way."

"Only because they never saw what I saw," she shot back. "Underneath that tacky suit, stupid straw hat, and fake smile you're just a conceited, arrogant, showboat!"

"Nice to meet you, Pot. Name's Kettle," Numbuh 80 said with a tip of his hat. "How about we drop this charade and get at what's really eating you, Numbuh 10. The real reason you nixed me is because I had the real creative talent and you could never cope with the fact the team liked me better than you."

Sector L wisely gave the two a wide-berth as Georgette began growling. The day had been grating on her psyche long before Numbuh 80 showed his lousy face, and this was just pushing it. Her eyes bored into him, willing holes to appear in his head. A glint of light flashed before her eyes and she quickly looked over to the pitcher of lemonade on the counter.

As she noted 80's close vicinity to the counter, she slowly smiled.

"You know what, Numbuh 80? I've changed my mind," she said calmly, moving over to the counter without watching her footing. "You want some lemonade? Then let me top you off - AH!"

All around winced as Georgette tripped over 80's discarded cane. Her arms flailed as she went tumbling down, crashing against the counter. The tremor caused the pitcher to tip over, spilling its contents on the already downed redhead.

The air went deathly cold as sector L and Numbuh 80 watched the girl get drenched in lemonade. The stream seemed to spill out endlessly, and after what seemed like an eternity, it stopped only when Georgette was covered head to toe in the sticky juice.

"On that note," Numbuh 80 hesitantly said as he awkwardly scooped up his cane. "I think I shall take my leave. Good day."

Sector L watched as the boy ran off, then looked to see their soggy leader rising from the ground. Georgette was dripping with lemonade, her large sunhat all wet, droopy, and the brim concealing her face.

With a gulp, Numbuh 11.0 bravely stepped forth and slowly peeled back the brim of her sunhat. "Ma'am?" he questioned as he was greeted with her emotionless stare. "Want me to get you a towel?"

"No thank you, Numbuh 11.0, but your concern is duly noted," she responded, her voice neutral and bland.

"Are you mad?"

"Enraged, actually," her even response made him shiver, "but I'm Numbuh 10. Cool. Calm. Collected. And totally not considering doing something that would get me dishonorably decommissioned."

"Ah, that's a relief," Numbuh 11.0 laughed, thinking the storm had passed. "For a minute there, I thought you'd be super upset."

"Of course I'm upset," Georgette hissed, her face crinkling with anger as the boy backed away. "And when I win this lemonade-off, Numbuh 80 is going to wish he was never born."

Thankful she wasn't directing her anger at them -at least not yet- Numbuh 1-8-5-7 risked saying, "But, uh, ma'am? He's got a clear lead on us and we got less than twenty minutes before noon. I'm not sure we can catch up."

Georgette was quiet as she stared off into the distance, her eyes locking onto Numbuh 80's Crazy Lemonade Machine. As she stared at the infernal contraption, an idea formed as her lips curled into a wicked smile. "Numbuh 9-Film, did you get that can of bug spray I asked for?"

"You mean that thing you told me to do hours ago?" he mumbled as he reached into his back-pocket and passed her the can. "No, I totally forgot about that."

The redhead let his snide remark slide as she placed the can on the counter. "12th Guard, get me the biggest lemon you can find."

"Numbuh 10?" Numbuh 11.0 questioned as 12th Guard complied with her request. He watched as his leader threw away her soaked hat and undid her hair bow. Her drenched her rained down freely as she used her bow to tie the lemon and bug spray together. Numbuh 11.0 was having a hard time following her logic, and became more stumped as she ripped off her watch. "What are you doing?"

Georgette was oblivious to the world as she clasped her watch to the lemon. "Numbuh 11.0, you still have the mic?"

He nodded before passing her the microphone, keenly curious to see where this was going.

"Perfect," she said. She then did the unthinkable and snapped the mic in half, using her nails to rip out the exposed wires and ignoring the sparks of static.

"Wait a minute," Numbuh 1-8-5-7 said, narrowing her eyes as she watched Georgette splice the wires into the lemon, dialed back the watch, shake-up the bug-spray, and worked 2x4 wizardry she didn't think possible of one so beautiful and spoiled. "Is that a…LEMONADE bomb?"

Georgette leaned against the stand, tossing her homemade lemon grenade up and down while her eyes followed it almost hypnotically. "This'll do nicely."

"What are you going to do with that!?"

"What's a luncheon without fireworks?" Georgette chuckled before walking off. "I'll be right back."

Sector L just watched stunned as Georgette went off. Off in the direction of Numbuh 80's machine they quickly surmised. Numbuh 9-Film let out a long whistle before saying, "The boss has officially flipped her lid."

"I'm surprised she didn't make one of us do it," 1-8-5-7 said. "Must really mean business if she's willing to get her hands dirty."

From behind, Patton trudged back up the hill, shaking bits of toilet paper from his boots along the way. He dusted off his hands, rolled up his sleeves, picked up a lemon, and prepared to get back to it. Upon noticing sector A's continued absence and sector L just standing there, he paused mid-scrub and made his way over to the four.

"What's with all the standing around?" he asked as he approached them. "I miss something?"

"Nah, nothing much. Our boss has just completely lost it, is all," Numbuh 9-Film calmly answered. "Pretty standard for a Tuesday, now that I think about it."

Patton's eyes widened a bit as he noted a certain redhead missing. "Where'd Georgette get off to now?"

"She's gone to blow up Numbuh 80."

Patton's mouth parted slightly. "Gone to…blow up Numbuh 80?"

"That, or his machine," 11.0 amended. "We're not sure."

"…and you all just let her go, just like that?"

"Dude, we watched her jury-rig a bomb right in front of us," Numbuh 1-8-5-7 said. "For a second, I thought she was gonna blow _us_ up."

Patton blinked once. Twice. Then a third time before slowly closing his eyes completely and palmed his face. "I can't believe I let this happen."

Numbuh 12th Guard smiled. "I can't believe you're thinking you could've stopped it."

"I _am_ stopping it." Patton said firmly as he marched off after Georgette. "You guys hold down the fort while I smack some sense into your leader. This has gone on long enough."

Sector L watched the Arctic Commander left them, finding themselves once again alone in the field.

Numbuh 9-Film smirked, looked down to Numbuh 1-8-5-7 and said, "Five Yipper cards says she blows them both up."

"You're on."

 **transmission interrupted**


	4. Cup 4

" _Come on, guys, we really need to get to work!"_

Nice was one of those words Georgette was aware of in her vocabulary, but not one she ever cared to show an example of.

" _Uh, Numbuh 12_ _th_ _Guard? I'm not sure that's a good idea."_

Being nice was something a sector leader did when they were at the end of their rope. Being nice was something a leader did when they were desperate for results. Georgette spat on the idea of putting up a front of niceness just to get a simple task completed. There was being polite, and there was being a pushover.

" _Numbuh 1-8-5-7, could you please stop napping backstage? The set's not even finished."_

Georgette peeked out from behind a bale of hay, eyes narrowing as she watched Numbuh 80 spin his trade. Everything about the boy made her teeth grind. From how he fast-talked his way out of trouble, from how he knew how to butter up a crowd to get what he desired, from how he inadvertently taught her the lesson about being a pushover the hard way.

" _Come on, Numbuh 9-Film. Operatives everywhere are counting on us. Could you please just do what I ask you to?"_

When 80 began chatting up a hard-balling customer, she made her move. Georgette rolled out from her cover, staying low to the ground and circumventing large groups as she inched closer to her goal. She ducked behind a fence, gliding past Numbuh 80, and allowing herself a smirk when she noted the Crazy Lemonade Machine just sitting up in the open. Oh so very defenseless.

" _It's, uh, funny material, Numbuh 11.10, but I think we should focus more on news than jokes…but I guess if you really want to…"_

Georgette glanced around, thankful that the excitement of the luncheon was providing the perfect distraction. She chuckled. The girl knew everything about drawing and diverting attention. A few whispers here and some fake gossip there, and everyone managed to just herd themselves away from machine like mindless sheep.

" _Numbuh 80, that's not-ugh! Why won't you guys listen to me?"_

She flipped her hair and walked up to the machine, everything about it reminding her of its creator and everything that doofus represented. Numbuh 80's inventions were nothing more than flashy extensions of the big con he was always trying to play. Always worming his way into people's hearts, always being that puckish rogue and squeezing out of trouble, always somehow managing to skirt around the edge of authority with a wink and a smile.

Georgette's grip around her LEMONADE tightened the more the memories came back. In the beginning days of her time in sector L, she thought she had the perfect team of talent to make television history, capped off with the deviously popular Numbuh 80 in her corner. It was going to be great and they would all get along fabulously.

She was going to be a fair and open leader.

" _I'm tired of you all never listening…"_

" _What do I keep telling, ya? Just gotta think of interesting stuff to listen to! Takes more than a pretty face to draw in the viewers, Georgy. In fact, I got an idea that will-"_

The whole fair and open thing didn't pan out so well.

Not with her sector knowing of their talent and thinking they were too good for her.

Not with Numbuh 80 feeding the fire by being a living affront to her leadership every waking hour.

A very tiny part of her deep down knew it was never intentional. A part of her knew that despite all his flaws, Numbuh 80 had big aspirations and couldn't help it if his personality clashed with his own.

But it was only so long when even that last, tiny part of her who knew just couldn't bring itself to care anymore.

" _That is IT!"_ she remembered a younger, inexperienced version of herself screaming. She remembered how on that day, the entirety of sector L shut their traps as she went down the line. " _You two quit slacking off, you pony it up, you can it with the jokes, and you,_ " she remembered hissing as she turned on a Numbuh 80 whom realized too little too late that he had pushed his leader too far. " _YOU'RE-_ "

"Going to be begging for mercy before I'm finished with you," Georgette chuckled, moving behind the Lemonade Machine and fiddling with her LEMONADE. "Not long now."

"Numbuh 10."

She tensed at the voice, the angry haze surrounding her lessening a smidgen upon realize he was here.

For a brief second, she actually worried what he must think of her; crouched over, holding a bomb, and looking like an all-around mess.

But she was too close to let that deter her, so Georgette never faced him as she greeted with a curt, "Numbuh 60, sir."

"What in the Sam Hill do you think you're doing?" he asked. His voice was stern, but also low enough to not draw attention and she was almost touched at how considerate he was being despite it all. "This is crazy, even for you!"

"You of all people should know about desperate measures," she muttered, slowly forcing herself to arm the LEMONADE and refuse to admit he had a point. "I'm not in the mood to listen to your moral high-ground right now."

"In the mood to listen to a direct order?" he threatened. "Because I can and will order you to stand down."

"Last I checked, this contest isn't officially KND regulated," she said. "Pretty sure that falls outside your authority."

"And last I checked, this is a KND sponsored luncheon," Patton growled. "So contest or no, you still gotta do what I say."

"Nu-uh," Georgette childishly rebuffed. "This is sector A, and due to their special conditions, Numbuh Jebediah gets final say at what goes while operatives visit sector A."

"You're pulling out flimsy excuses and you know it!" Patton snapped, more than past fed up with this. "It'll never hold up in court!"

"Says you! I've Numbuh $1.50 an Hour on speed dial," she countered. "Besides, I don't care if you marshal me over this or not. By the time it's all said and done, that fraud will have lost!"

"I can't believe how obsessed you are with this contest," Patton said as he quickly closed the distance between them. Georgette squeaked, holding up the LEMONADE while using her free hand to swat at Patton. "Give it here!"

"Fat chance!"

"Gimmie!"

"No no no!"

"Last chance, Georgy," Patton said as he flexed his fingers. "Or else this gets ugly."

Georgette furrowed her brows before they shot up. "Y-You wouldn't."

"Oh," Patton said as he tickled up her sides. "I would!"

Georgette burst into mad laughter, Patton aiming for all her weak spots as her giggling intensified. "Th-That's hehehe un-tehehehehe-FAIR!"

"Maybe," Patton grinned, eyes watching her like a hawk. Seeing his opening, his hand snatched the LEMONADE before he jumped back away from the redhead. "But it gets the job done!"

"Why you little," Georgette said before tackling him to the ground, doing her best to reclaim her prize. "Give it back, it's mine!"

"This is unregistered 2x4 tech and I'm confiscating it," Patton heaved as they rolled around, tucking the grenade underneath his body as Georgette's hands frisked his body. "So it's mine now!"

"Is not!"

"Is too!"

"Is not!"

"Is too!"

"Is not times infinity!"

"Grrr," Patton squirmed out from under her, standing up and facing her cheeky grin. "That's dirty!"

"Don't dish it out if you can't take it, Patty-kins," Georgette said, slowly crooking her fingers as she fluttered her eyes. "Now hand it over."

Patton huffed, extending his arm and presenting the LEMONADE. Just as Georgette was about to grab it, Patton hocked a massive loogie and spat right on the bomb.

"Ew!" Georgette hands whipped back and she flinched away from the grenade. "That's just _gross_!"

"What's the matter?" Patton said, teasingly waving the LEMONADE back and forth. "Don't you want it back?"

Georgette's hand gingerly moved towards the LEMONADE, but despite all her willpower, she just could not allow her hands to come into contact with such vulgar yuckiness. The redhead fumed, stomping her feet before slumping over. A moment of silence passed before she let out a defeated sigh.

"Fine," she said quietly, raising her head but avoiding eye contact as she rubbed at her arm. "You're…you're right. I took this way too far."

Patton blinked, wearily regarding the girl. "No way you're giving up this easily."

"Patton, it's been a long day. I don't have a story, I'm about to lose this contest, and I'm covered in lemonade," Georgette meekly said. She took a deep breath, held her chin up and outstretched her hand. "So let's, y'know, be mature about this and put this stupidity behind us."

The boy wasn't convinced, frowning at the hand she was offering and getting the feeling he should just make a break for it while he had the chance.

"Patton, please." He did a double-take, looking up to her face to find her expression soft as she stared him down with sad eyes. "Don't kick me while I'm down."

"Well…I guess we all kinda go crazy every now and again," he admitted as he scratched his neck. He gave her a nod as he took her hand and shook it. "Thanks for listening to reason."

"No, thank you. YOU SUCKER!"

Georgette harshly gripped his hand and managed to yank off his glove. Before he was even aware of what happened, Georgette swept her foot behind his ankle and watched as he fell on his butt.

The LEMONADE went flying, and Georgette quickly adorned Patton's glove and leapt up to catch the grenade with her newly covered hand.

"You're such a gullible dork, it's adorable," Georgette snickered as she took off running back towards the machine.

As she ran, Georgette did the best she could to finish arming the LEMONADE as she picked around Patton's saliva. Once it beeped with confirmation, she allowed herself a victorious fist-pump as she closed in on 80's invention. All that was left was to set it, tuck it under the machine, and run before the fireworks went off. It was a brilliant plan.

But alas, even the most brilliant of plans had their hitches, or so Georgette figured when she fell to the ground and looked back to see a crawling Patton grasping her ankle.

"This ain't over," Patton said as Georgette continued crawling towards the machine. "Not by a longshot!"

"It's about to be," Georgette growled as she inched closer. "Once this baby goes off, Numbuh 80's precious machine will be a footnote in tonight's news."

"Is that all you care about?" Patton asked as he parried her kicks and made his way past her hips to reach for the bomb. "Just some drama to fill your news slot?"

"All I care about," Georgette groaned, using her free hand to push Patton's face back, "is making sure Numbuh 80 gets what he deserves!"

"It's just lemonade!"

"It's not just lemonade! It's him thinking he can just show up whenever he wants and steal my spotlight!"

"Are you that vain? Do you really care that much if he's better than you!?"

"YES I DO!"

Patton continued to fight against her hold, but stopped when he noticed as her posture went limp. He pushed her hand out of his face, and looked up to see she had stopped crawling altogether. Her hand with the LEMONADE had lowered to the ground, the grenade laying loose in her hand just ticking occasionally. Georgette seemed to care not about it, for her eyes stared at her messy reflection in the Lemonade Machine's steel.

"Yes, I do care if he's better than me," Georgette admitted, looking away from her distorted image with a frown. "Because sometimes…maybe I sort of, kinda -just a teeny tiny bit- think he…he might be."

Patton frowned as he rolled off of her. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"Like you'd get it," Georgette grumbled. "You've never had to deal with someone like him. Someone acting all uppity and challenging your authority."

Patton shot her a dry look. "What the heck do you think I've been doing these last five minutes?"

"Ugh, see!? I knew you wouldn't understand," she huffed as she slowly moved into a sitting position, clutching the LEMONADE and tucking her legs in. "I tried playing nice when I first started out, but Numbuh 80 never failed to remind me how much of a pushover I was. Every stinking day all I heard was, 'what about Numbuh 80's idea,' 'I wanna work on Numbuh 80's show,' 'Numbuh 80's taking an another break so why can't I?' Never mind he didn't care about the real news. Never mind he was more concerned about making money than finding the real answers kids deserve to know."

Georgette looked over to see Patton sitting beside her, arms crossed and face neutral as he listened. She looked away from him and continued, "So I stopped pretending to be nice and made them shape up. Too bad so sad if I'm mean and strict, it was the only way to get real potential out of them. The second Numbuh 80 fell out of line again, I made an example and fired him."

Patton rolled his eyes. "Georgette, the KND isn't a business. You can't just fire operatives off your team."

"Yeah, well, he was getting in the way of our mission and I gave him the boot," she huffed. "Like it matters. Seems no matter where I go, he's always there. I have to spend hours maintaining this amazing perfection you see nightly, but all he has to do is show up in a raggedy suit, show off a trinket and people are eating out of his hand."

"Wow," Patton whistled. "Jealous much?"

"How would you feel?" Georgette said as her thumbs massaged the base of her temples. "My own team still likes him better than me."

"So what if they like him better?" Patton said with a shrug. "Not every team can be one big happy family like sector V. Besides, that's never bothered you before."

Georgette shook her head. "You just don't _get it_."

"You think I don't? Half of my cadets can't stand me. But that don't matter because at the end of the day, as long I bring the best out of them and see them to graduation, I've done a good job." Patton looked to the clouds. "Yeah, it gets to me sometimes, but hey, I'm just a kid."

"Well I'm not just a kid, I'm _Numbuh 10_ ," Georgette insisted. "It shouldn't get to me at all."

"The contest you started proves that it does," Patton argued. "Look, your team? Even if they don't like you, they respected you enough to not go AWOL when you got strict. Heck, I think Numbuh 80 respects you enough to stay away despite the fact you firing him is unofficial as far as regs go."

"Yeah right!" Georgette snapped. "The guy's a hack."

"You don't believe that. You just don't like him."

"And how would you know?"

"Because I know _you,_ Georgette," Patton firmly said before pointing to the LEMONADE. "And I know you're better than this."

The girl looked down at the LEMONADE, her rage from earlier bubbling up the longer she stared at it. It would be so easy. So easy to just let it go off, crush Numbuh 80's hopes and dreams, and sit back and sip on his tears. It would serve him right, the stupid jerk.

But the longer she thought about it, the more the rage faded leaving her feeling empty. It would be easy. So easy.

But Georgette was never one for the easy way out.

"Fine, Patton," she grumbled as she stood. "I'll let the hack off the hook. Just for today."

"Guess that's the best I can ask for," Patton said, allowing himself a moment of relief. He was actually worried about her for a moment. "And hey, we still got about ten minutes left. I'm sure if we hunkered down, we might still win this thing."

"Where was that enthusiasm before?"

"What can I say? Juggling a bomb around builds adrenaline," Patton joked. "Speaking of which, you gonna disarm that thing or what?"

"Oh yeah," Georgette said as she idly chuckled the LEMONADE over to Patton. "Go ahead."

Patton frowned as he cupped the LEMONADE. "Uh, disarming these things isn't exactly my area of expertise."

Georgette rolled her eyes. "Very funny, Patton."

"I'm serious."

"So am I, disarm it."

"I can't."

"What do you mean you can't?"

"What I mean is you made this thing," he said, quickly shoving it back into her hand. "You disarm it!"

She wildly shook her head as she gave it back to him. "I don't know how!"

"Oh, making a bomb? That's easy. Un-making it? Guess that's asking for too much," Patton stewed as he awkwardly fiddled with the wiring. "Uh, maybe it's the blue wire?"

"Just give it here," Georgette snappily said as she jerked it away. "It's gotta be the red wire."

"You're insane," Patton said as he tried to wrestle it back. "Haven't ever seen the movies? It's never the red wire!"

"Which one of us would know more about movies?" she growled as she tried to gain control of it. "Hand it over before you blow us up."

"No, you."

"No, you!"

"No, you-"

 _BEEP BEEP!_

Both operatives screamed and let the LEMONADE fall to the ground. The moment it hit the grass, they held on to one another and braced for the lemony explosion. Patton clenched his eyes shut, and Georgette positioned herself behind him, counting down the seconds before they went boom.

Only, after a solid minute had passed, there was no earth shattering boom.

Not even a tiny one.

Georgette risked a peek over Patton's shoulder. "Is it a dud?"

"Not sure," Patton said as he cautiously looked down. "The light's still blinking."

Tired of waiting, Georgette moved out from behind the boy and bent over to pick it up.

"Don't touch it!"

Georgette flinched as Patton's hand caught her risk. "Why not?"

"We don't know if it's armed and the slightest touch could set it off."

… _bzzzzzz_ …

Georgette's attention was torn from Patton when a buzzing whished past her ear. She looked over and groaned upon seeing a fly. Great. Just what she needed right now.

"I think I saw Numbuh 78 around here," Patton continued to say, oblivious to his redheaded companion's sudden attention with the passing insect. "She knows a thing or two about explosives, so I'll stay here while you go find her…"

Georgette ignored him as she watched the fly zip around, highly intrigued by it for some odd reason. It cut through the air, sailing around the hull of the lemonade machine before it slowed its paced and began hovering dangerously close to the LEMONADE.

"…Patton."

"-just say Numbuh 60 sent you and she should-"

"Patton!"

"What?"

"It's a fly."

Patton tilted his head, looking at the bug before turning back to Georgette. "So?"

"So," Georgette said, feeling an odd sense of dread in the air. "there's a fly buzzing very close to the LEMONADE. The LEMONADE you said could go off at the slightest touch."

Patton paled. "Uh, shoo, fly? Shoo," he said as he swatted his hand at the bug. "Go on now, shoo."

The fly buzzed around Patton's head and zipped right up to Georgette's face. The girl flinched, preparing to slap at the fly when an odd feeling overcame her.

If she didn't know any better, it seemed like the fly was staring at her.

If she were crazy, she would claim the series of buzzes it was making sounded as if it were trying to _communicate_ with her.

"Uh," Patton coughed when he noted the girl having an odd staring contest with the bug. "Georgette?"

"Call me crazy," she said slowly as the fly went back to hovering over the LEMONADE, "but I get the strangest feeling it's…upset with me."

"…you're crazy," Patton flatly said. "Even if it were true, what the heck would a fly be mad at you about?"

While the two fell to petty arguments, the fly in question continued its hover over the LEMONADE. It stared at Georgette, seemingly transfixed.

If one were to hazard a guess, one would say the fly almost seemed vengeful.

If one also happened to understand fly, one would have translated the fly's buzzing towards Georgette as, "My name is Inigo Buzztoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die."

As the fly dive-bombed the LEMONADE, one could only think that it was a shame no one in present company understood fly.

 _BOOM!_

The relatively quiet calm of the Lemonade Luncheon was shattered as an explosion thundered from Numbuh 80's camp. Surrounding operatives scampered away screaming, those unfortunate enough to be standing too close to the rupturing Lemonade Machine getting soaked in the rain of lemon juice that fell from the sky.

From their position across the field, sector A and L paused their activity to watch the explosion from a safe enough distance. The Amish operatives looked on with awe, never quite seeing such a display before in their entire lives.

Sector L looked a bit more unimpressed, Numbuhs 11.0 and 12th Guard shaking their heads while a grumbling Numbuh 1-8-5-7 smacked five of her best Yipper cards in a grinning Numbuh 9-Film's hand.

Not long after the explosion settled, Patton and Georgette slowly walked back up the hill. Georgette looked even more wet, if that were possible, while Patton could only curse his luck for having to mirror her appearance.

"Patton, have I told you that I hate bugs?" Georgette muttered as she drained the lemonade from her hair. "Because I really, really hate bugs."

"You may have mentioned it once or twice," he said. "Can't believe after all that, it still went off."

"Hey, it went off accidentally. Not on purpose," Georgette felt the need to say. "So cheer up, you still talked me out of it."

"If this is what I get for talking you out of stupid crud, remind me not to care next time."

"What in the blazes is going on?" The two looked over to see Numbuh 80 running up the hill, overlooking the destruction as his fingers wildly combed through his hair. "My beautiful lemonade machine…IT'S RUINED!"

Numbuh 9-Film walked up behind him, awkwardly patting him on the shoulder. "That's gotta suck."

Numbuh 80 slowly fell to his knees, watching as his glorious invention was reduced to nothing more than a smoldering pile of steel and duct-tape. He briefly looked away towards Georgette and Patton, and his eyes narrowed as they settled on the redhead. "Now why do I get the feeling you had something to do with this?"

"Me!?" Georgette said, appearing shocked, though Patton was close enough to note the fake hitch in her tone. "Where do you get off accusing me?"

"Evidence speaks for itself; you're covered in lemon juice!"

"No duh, genius. You were there when you spilled it all over me!"

"You spilled it over yourself," Numbuh 80 corrected before aiming his cane at Patton. "And that does not account for why Numbuh 60 is covered in the stuff too."

"Poor Patton was on his way to help with my dilemma when he got caught up in your explosion," she said, fawning over the boy as she leaned in close. "Here I thought he wouldn't come back in one piece."

Patton awkwardly waved and smiled as he gave the girl a side-glance. "Seriously?"

"It's not a lie," Georgette said quietly through her grin.

Numbuh 80 stood up and walked over Georgette, straightening his hat as he glared down at her face. "I don't believe that pile of dog doodie for a second."

"Oh would you get out of my face," Georgette said as she pushed him away. She crossed her arms, huffed, and finally said, "I'm sorry about your stupid machine. Happy?"

Patton blinked. "You're-"

"-Sorry?" Numbuh 80 chimed in, equally surprised. He pursed his lips as he regarded her suspiciously. "Now what would you be sorry about if you didn't do it?"

"What? I can't be professional and offer my sympathy?" she said, clearly not amused of having to go so far to dig herself out of this hole. "Trust me, jerk, you need all the sympathy you can get."

Numbuh 80 was quiet before a moment before he chuckled. "You know what, Georgy? Given your current sad state, I think I'll just give you this one."

Georgette sweetly smiled. "You have two seconds to get out of my face."

"Why, Georgette-"

"One."

"-I'd be happy to comply!" Numbuh 80 nervously said as he scooted back. "It's the least I could do, considering before my unfortunate mishap, I managed to sell three hundred thirty-seven cups of lemonade!"

Georgette's smile deflated as the reality of the situation came crashing down. "T-Three hundred and thirty-seven?"

"Yes, ma'am," Numbuh 80 winked as he tipped his hat. "What do you have to say about that?"

"I'd say you did a fair job, Numbuh 80." It was Numbuh Jebediah who spoke up as he came up from behind Patton and Georgette. He looked at the two, tsked, but continued on with his speech. "But considering the terms of the contest, I feel the need to inform ya it's past noon now, and our final count before time ran out was three hundred and thirty-eight cups sold."

"Three hundred and thirty-eight?" Patton quietly repeated while Georgette began shaking beside him. "Wow. Then that would mean…"

"That would mean WE WON!" Georgette exploded, positively bursting with joy as she pranced and skipped around the drill commander. "Yes! I knew we had this contest in the bag. I'm so happy, I think I'll include this moment in my biography!"

Numbuh 11.0 smiled. "Guess you could say this is one of your top ten moments, eh? Get it? Because-"

"Don't ruin it," she said, mouth thinning as the boy gulped. However, another grin broke through as she shook with gleeful giggles. "Ah, what the heck, make your jokes. Once again, sector L pulled through just as I expected them to."

Numbuh 9-Film nudged Numbuh 1-8-5-7. "Like we're gonna risk getting chewed out for not meeting our quota."

"This is going to be fantastic," Georgette said with stars in her eyes. "There will be interviews, press-conferences…ah, tonight's news story is gonna rock the KNN nation! It's practically Pulitzer worthy."

"Despite my disbelief, I do believe congratulations are in order," Numbuh 80 spoke up, calmly walking towards Georgette, an even smile in place. "Done the impossible once again, Georgette. I know when I'm beat. Tip of the hat to you, kid. Ya earned it."

"You bet I did," Georgette said, smirking as she trailed her fingers up his suit before spinning his bow-tie. "Don't think I've forgotten about our little arrangement."

"Come on, Georgette, really?" Patton said, walking towards the gathering as he voiced his thoughts. "After everything that's happened, you're still going to humiliate him on TV?"

"Humiliate him? Why, Patton, that would be unprofessional," Georgette cheekily said as she twirled a strand of her hair. "Tempers flared today and the mood got the best of me, it was so uncouth. No, the jerk can still flaunt his shoddy credentials all he wants. All I require is a good five minutes of him giving me praise where praise is due live tonight on KNN." Her smile grew as she leaned in closer. "You'll be my very special guest."

"As generous of an opportunity that would be," Numbuh 80 responded with a sly smile of his own, "I'm afraid I must decline. Some other time, perhaps."

Georgette frowned. "You _have_ to do what I say. Remember our terms?"

"Dear oh dear, our terms! How could it slip my mind?" Numbuh 80 sighed, and Georgette smiled as he rose his head sullenly. Her smile, not for the first time today, disappeared when instead of groveling at her feet like he should've been doing, Numbuh 80 turned to shake Jebediah's hand instead. "Well, Numbuh Jebediah, a deal's a deal. What would you subject me to?"

"Wait, back up," Georgette said, eyes narrowing as she stepped in between the two. "Why are you asking him?"

"But, Georgette," Numbuh 80 said, mock shock painted across his expression, "I'm simply doing what we agreed on. I never go back on my word."

"The deal was that the loser had to do whatever the winner wanted," Georgette said slowly. "Those were the terms, so you should be talking to me."

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Oh, Georgy, you and your word twisting," Numbuh 80 said with a cluck of his tongue. "The deal was that the loser had to do whatever the sector leader of the winning team wanted. _Those_ were the terms _you_ agreed to."

"So? You're still the loser!"

"And the sector leader of the winning team," Numbuh 80 said as he used his cane to pull Jebediah in front of her, "is Numbuh Jebediah."

"…what!?"

"I do believe this lemonade-off was between me and sector A," Numbuh 80 said as he dusted his knuckles against his suit. "Yes, you volunteered your sector to help them out, and might I say it was very neighborly of you to do so, but that does not mean you're automatically the new leader of sector A."

"But…but…" Georgette stammered, eyes shifting as she remembered the wording of the original deal. Her foot stomped into the ground and her glare became venomous. In spite of everything, the fraud managed to hoodwink her. "Grrr, you know what? Fine! I can respect oral contracts." She suddenly hooked her arm around Jebediah, patting his back as she encouraged him. "Go on then, Jebediah. Let him have it."

"Indeed, Jebediah," Numbuh 80 cried, dropping to his knees and presenting his wrists to the boy. "I am at your mercy!"

"Oh, there won't be no need for your dramatics, Numbuh 80," Jebediah said as he shrugged off Georgette and waved off Numbuh 80's antics. "We won fair'n'square. No need to rub salt in any wounds."

"You can't be serious," Georgette all but screeched as Numbuh 80 hopped up as if nothing happened. "You're letting this jerk get off Scott free!?"

"Poor fella's machine done gone and blew up, Numbuh 10. He's not leaving without a few scars," Jebediah said. Behind him Numbuh 80 bemoaned as he clenched his chest in pain, but the Amish leader ignored his outrageous display. "Besides, ain't right going and forcing a friend to make a fool of himself when he's already lost."

"…you're friends with this guy?"

"As I was saying before _somebody_ got all self-righteous," Numbuh 80 said as he propped his arm on Jebediah's shoulder and leaned on him. "I had no plans of kicking sector A out of the lemonade business. That'd be a downright dirty thing to do to the kind people who took me in when a snooty _someone_ kicked me to the curb."

Georgette's jaw dropped as she turned to the Amish boy. "You mean to tell me he's part of _your_ sector now?"

"Not officially. He ain't Amish like the rest of us," Jebediah answered. "But we figured it was the least we could do for a fellow operative while he got back on his feet. While I don't quite agree with his ways, Numbuh 80 is mighty respectful of our traditions when he visits. Most of the time, anyway."

"Of course I am! I came here today with the purest intentions of helping my good Amish friends out of their lemony predicament," Numbuh 80 proclaimed while he leaned cheekily towards Georgette. "And if I just so happen to make a profit or two while doing it, why, I'd just call that moral incentive, wouldn't you agree?"

Georgette's jaw would've dropped to the ground at this point if it were possible.

"Well, it's been quite the morning," Numbuh 80 said with a stretch. He reached into his breast-pocket, whipped out a handkerchief, and wiped the edges of Georgette's stunned face before depositing the cloth in her hand. "But I do believe I shall make my exit. It's been a pleasure, Numbuh 10.

"Until our paths cross again, fellas," Numbuh 80 twirled his cane as he waved at sector L, wrapping an arm around Jebediah and walking down the hill. "Jebediah, old friend, it's been far too long since we've properly caught up."

"Is all that teasing really necessary?" Jebediah asked as he looked back over his shoulder to Georgette. "Numbuh 10's never going to let ya back on her team with the way you keep egging her on."

"Nah, sector L is Georgy's baby. I'm more of a solo-act, myself," Numbuh 80 chuckled. "I'm free to creatively expand the Crazy 80 brand! Speaking of which, I've got this super low-tech idea that you and your team have just gotta get in on."

"I'll respectively ask you to drop the matter," Jebediah said as he idly pointed to the rubble of the Lemonade Machine. "Think your doo-hickey's brought us enough trouble for the day."

"Ah, don't remind me," Numbuh 80 said, visibly deflating as he looked at the machine. "I haven't even paid off the loan I took out on that thing…"

As Numbuh 80 and Numbuh Jebediah disappeared into the crowds of the luncheon, Patton and sector L hesitantly surrounded Georgette, whom was still frozen from shock.

Numbuh 11.0 blinked, then started chuckling to himself. "Y'know, it just occurred to me…"

Everyone, including Georgette, looked at him and urged him to finish his thought.

"It's just, if Numbuh 80 _did_ win, ma'am, then you would've gotten to decide what happened. You're still technically his sector leader" Numbuh 11.0 laughed. "Isn't that kind of funny?"

Patton and the rest of sector L took a step back as Georgette's eye twitched. She slowly turned her head fully towards Numbuh 11.0, her gaze getting more murderous by the second.

Numbuh 11.0 flinched. "Uh, m-maybe it's not THAT funny…"

Georgette glared at him for a long moment before finally sighing. "Take five, everyone."

Not needing to be told twice, sector L scattered as they finally went to enjoy the luncheon themselves.

Patton watched as the kids disappeared, somewhat impressed by their speed. He looked to Georgette, whom had sat down and stared out to the country-side.

"Some day, huh?" he asked as he stepped up beside her. "Probably one of the more interesting Lemonade Luncheons I've been to."

"Yeah," Georgette said quietly, her still gloved hand coming up to rub at her eyes. "Interesting."

Patton's eyes widened as he looked closely at her face. "Are you…are you crying?"

"No," Georgette said as she continued to rub at her left eye. "I'm not-"

"Ah, geez, don't cry, Georgette," Patton hastily said as he sat down beside her, awkwardly wondering how the crud he was going to fix this. "It's not all bad, you know? You, uh…you still got your story, right?"

"Patton-"

"And who cares if dumb old 80 got off easy," he continued, "he still lost. I mean, sure, you kind of did blow up his machine…b-but that _was_ technically an accident near the end!"

"Patton-"

"And so what if your team likes him better? Not everyone likes him. Doesn't rub me the right way either. In fact, I actually like you WAY better than him-"

"Patton!" Georgette said, clasping her hand over his mouth. "I'm not crying. Really. Some of the lemon juice from the explosion got in my eye."

She slowly removed her hand and Patton blinked stupidly as he registered her words. After a moment, he looked away from her and simply said. "Oh."

"Yeah," Georgette nodded, turning her attention back to the roaming fields below.

The two operatives just sat there, the luncheon bustling behind them and most already forgetting about the contest and beginning to hanker for more lemonade. It was a never ending cycle that would no doubt continue into the Lemonade Luncheon of next year.

Georgette mused to herself, collecting her thoughts. A small smirk appeared as she nudged the boy beside her. "So you like me better, hmmm?"

Patton grumbled as his cheeks reddened. "Never going to let me live that one down, are you?"

" _Probably_ not," she said as she leaned towards him, poking him in the chest. "But play your cards right, and I might decide to keep this juicy bit of information to myself."

Patton snorted. "And deny the public the truth? Not like you."

"I'll admit to being a bit greedy," she said as she pulled away and began straightening her hair. "Besides, despite you being a total sap, you did help me out today. I suppose you could say I'm feeling appreciative."

"That almost sounded like a thank you."

"I know, today really has gotten to me," she said as she ignored Patton's smirk. "But enough crying over spilt lemonade. I need to arrange an interview with Jebediah for my story tonight. Zero knows how difficult that is going to be." She pulled out her compact mirror, analyzing her messy state with a grimace. "Girl, we've got work to do. Eh, but nothing a little paint, glue, and a change of clothes won't fix."

"Speaking of clothes," Patton said as he held his hand out expectantly. "Mind giving me my glove back?"

"This little thing?" Georgette said, smirking as she leaned her head against his shoulder and she showed off her gloved hand high in the air for all to fawn over. "I was thinking of saving it as a keepsake. Something for the wall to remember our little misadventure with."

"That's not funny, Georgette," Patton said. The girl rose and began strutting off, Patton rising from his seat to follow after her. "Hand it over."

"How 'bout a trade? This glove for an interview," she teased as she flexed her covered fingers. "I'm sure the KND would love to know the secret of how their Arctic commander doesn't sweat under pressure."

"Oh, for the love of fluff, seriously?"

"That wasn't a no," she said in a sing-song voice as she wandered off.

"Georgette, get back here!"

 **end transmission**


End file.
